Mr. Grassley (for
himself, Mr. Schumer,
Mr. Leahy, Mr.
Cornyn, Mr. Durbin,
Ms. Klobuchar, and
Mr. Blumenthal) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on the
Judiciary

A BILL

To provide for media coverage of Federal
court proceedings.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the
Sunshine in the Courtroom Act of
2013.

2.

Federal appellate and district
courts

(a)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Presiding judge

The term presiding judge means
the judge presiding over the court proceeding concerned. In proceedings in
which more than 1 judge participates, the presiding judge shall be the senior
active judge so participating or, in the case of a circuit court of appeals,
the senior active circuit judge so participating, except that—

(A)

in en banc
sittings of any United States circuit court of appeals, the presiding judge
shall be the chief judge of the circuit whenever the chief judge participates;
and

(B)

in en banc
sittings of the Supreme Court of the United States, the presiding judge shall
be the Chief Justice whenever the Chief Justice participates.

(2)

Appellate court of the united
states

The term appellate court of the
United States means any United States circuit court of appeals and the
Supreme Court of the United States.

Except as provided under subparagraph (B), the presiding
judge of an appellate court of the United States may, at the discretion of that
judge, permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or
televising to the public of any court proceeding over which that judge
presides.

(B)

Exception

The
presiding judge shall not permit any action under subparagraph (A), if—

(i)

in the case of a proceeding involving only
the presiding judge, that judge determines the action would constitute a
violation of the due process rights of any party; or

(ii)

in the case of a proceeding involving the
participation of more than 1 judge, a majority of the judges participating
determine that the action would constitute a violation of the due process
rights of any party.

(2)

Authority of district courts

(A)

In general

(i)

Authority

Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, except as provided under clause (iii), the
presiding judge of a district court of the United States may, at the discretion
of that judge, permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or
televising to the public of any court proceeding over which that judge
presides.

(ii)

Obscuring of witnesses

Except as provided under clause (iii)—

(I)

upon the request of any witness (other than
a party) in a trial proceeding, the court shall order the face and voice of the
witness to be disguised or otherwise obscured in such manner as to render the
witness unrecognizable to the broadcast audience of the trial proceeding;
and

(II)

the presiding judge in a trial proceeding
shall inform each witness who is not a party that the witness has the right to
request the image and voice of that witness to be obscured during the witness'
testimony.

(iii)

Exception

The
presiding judge shall not permit any action under this subparagraph—

(I)

if that judge
determines the action would constitute a violation of the due process rights of
any party; and

(II)

until the
Judicial Conference of the United States promulgates mandatory guidelines under
paragraph (5).

(B)

No media coverage
of jurors

The presiding judge
shall not permit the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or
televising of any juror in a trial proceeding, or of the jury selection
process.

(C)

Discretion of
the judge

The presiding judge shall have the discretion to
obscure the face and voice of an individual, if good cause is shown that the
photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or televising of the
individual would threaten—

(i)

the
safety of the individual;

(ii)

the security of
the court;

(iii)

the integrity
of future or ongoing law enforcement operations; or

(iv)

the interest of
justice.

(D)

Sunset of
district court authority

The authority under this paragraph shall
terminate 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

(3)

Interlocutory
appeals barred

The decision
of the presiding judge under this subsection of whether or not to permit, deny,
or terminate the photographing, electronic recording, broadcasting, or
televising of a court proceeding may not be challenged through an interlocutory
appeal.

(4)

Advisory Guidelines

The Judicial Conference of the United
States may promulgate advisory guidelines to which a presiding judge, at the
discretion of that judge, may refer in making decisions with respect to the
management and administration of photographing, recording, broadcasting, or
televising described under paragraphs (1) and (2).

(5)

Mandatory
guidelines

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Judicial Conference of the United States shall promulgate
mandatory guidelines which a presiding judge is required to follow for
obscuring of certain vulnerable witnesses, including crime victims, minor
victims, families of victims, cooperating witnesses, undercover law enforcement
officers or agents, witnesses subject to section 3521 of title 18, United
States Code, relating to witness relocation and protection, or minors under the
age of 18 years. The guidelines shall include procedures for determining, at
the earliest practicable time in any investigation or case, which witnesses
should be considered vulnerable under this section.

(6)

Procedures

In the interests of justice and fairness,
the presiding judge of the court in which media use is desired has discretion
to promulgate rules and disciplinary measures for the courtroom use of any form
of media or media equipment and the acquisition or distribution of any of the
images or sounds obtained in the courtroom. The presiding judge shall also have
discretion to require written acknowledgment of the rules by anyone
individually or on behalf of any entity before being allowed to acquire any
images or sounds from the courtroom.

(7)

No broadcast of
conferences between attorneys and clients

There shall be no audio
pickup or broadcast of conferences which occur in a court proceeding between
attorneys and their clients, between co-counsel of a client, between adverse
counsel, or between counsel and the presiding judge, if the conferences are not
part of the official record of the proceedings.

(8)

Expenses

A
court may require that any accommodations to effectuate this Act be made
without public expense.

(9)

Inherent
authority

Nothing in this Act shall limit the inherent authority
of a court to protect witnesses or clear the courtroom to preserve the decorum
and integrity of the legal process or protect the safety of an
individual.